PROJECT OVERVIEW
Designed to meet the needs of both students and non-students in the community, The Metropolitan at State College is a 12-story, U-shaped mixed-use building with urban convenience. The building combines a total of 132 residential units with office space, 40,000+ SF of retail/amenity space and three levels of underground structured parking.
PRECAST SOLUTION
The Metropolitan was initially designed with a cast-in-place (CIP) concrete basement retaining wall system, precast garage, and CIP shear towers from the basement to roof level. Levels 1, 2, and 3 of the structure were also originally designed as CIP. Above the podium, the design for the upper levels (above level 3) included a girder slab system – a structural steel skeleton with hollowcore. With the CIP basement retaining wall up and the garage precast below grade in the process of being erected, the project went over budget. Metromont was approached by the owners to provide pricing for a conversion from CIP to precast. Metromont’s conversion to precast saved 10% of the total project cost. The new design features precast below grade and, although the first level remained CIP, vertical levels 1-3 became precast, level two was converted to precast, and level three was redesigned as a series of transfer beams into a precast deck. The new design also includes shear towers to level three, but the shear towers from levels 3-13 were converted to Metromont’s total precast MetroDeck floor system that saved time and money. Metromont’s design includes a rooftop amenity level with swimming pool, two spas, and a jumbotron.
Total Precast Building System Benefits
The Metropolitan demonstrates the application and benefits of a total precast structure. Prefabricating and erecting a building’s structural system through a single-source precast concrete manufacturer adds constant value to the owner, contractor, and design team in a fast-paced, highly integrated, and technology-driven environment.
Here are some of the benefits of working with precast:
- Utilize high-quality, high strength material with a service life of seventy-five years or more
- Create buildings with long interior spans for cost-effective daylighting
- Improve acoustic performance through hollow core floor systems
- Provide high fire, vibration, inclement weather resistance, and multi-hazard protection
- Reduce operational costs and improve occupant comfort through thermal storage capacity, which tempers heating and cooling load swings
- Accelerate year-round construction through prefabrication in an offsite, quality-controlled environment
- Minimize disruptive laydown areas with products that are shipped and erected at sites just in time
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